Driver Recognition 2009
Walter Mathews Driver of the 2nd Quarter 2009
Company driver Walter Mathews has only been working for Wilson Lines since September 2008 and has already been voted Driver of the Quarter. Walter is from California and lived there his whole life, except for the past 2 ½ years. He moved to Minnesota to be closer to his wife’s family. While he doesn’t particularly like the cold and snow, he says that Minnesota is great.
Walter has been a truck driver for over 15 years and his favorite place to drive is anywhere in California. He likes to be on the go and the freedom to be his own boss when he is on the road. He also likes the variety of the job and wondering where he will be going next.
Richard Hanson Driver of the 1st Quarter 2009
City driver Dick Hanson has been a familiar face at Wilson Lines for the past 19 years. He grew up in Turtle Lake, WI and originally considered becoming an agriculture teacher. He enrolled in a 1-year ag short course at UW-Madison, where he spent the coldest winter of his life. Dick decided ag was not for him, and in 1968, he became a company driver working for Paul Frandsen at Midwest Coast for 11 years. Then he became an owner-operator with Overland Express and later, for Transport America. In 1990, Dick wanted to come back to work for Paul at Wilson Lines, but first needed to sell his Peterbilt. Wilson Lines agreed to buy it from him, even though all the rest of their trucks were Kenworths. He was a Chicago driver for 8 years before deciding to become a city driver. He says, “30 years sleeping in a sleeper is long enough!”
